The 2024 NHL offseason has brought about some major changes throughout the league. Some teams came out as winners and acquired some serious roster improvements. Other teams came out as losers and found themselves becoming much worse off.
Barry Trotz made a major splash in the 2023 offseason, his first offseason as an NHL general manager. He repeated that rampant success in 2024 and made several major signings on the first day of free agency. Trotz landed one of the biggest free agents available in Steven Stamkos, followed shortly after by the signings of Jonathan Marchessault, Brady Skjei and Scott Wedgewood. These acquisitions came after a season where the Predators broke a league record for the longest point streak, made the playoffs and nearly pulled off a first round upset. Bringing in this array of highly talented and experienced players will make an already great team that much better. The Predators should prove to be a massive threat in the Western Conference this upcoming season.
After a disappointing postseason run, the offseason has not brought any better news for the Hurricanes. Jake Guentzel, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Teuvo Teravainen, Brett Pesce, Brady Skjei and Stefen Noesen all left for new teams. While departures can be overcome, especially with a well-coached team like the Hurricanes are, this specific group of departures is going to sting. All of these players had important roles in making the team the powerhouse it has been. The talent and familiarity with Rod Brind’Amour’s system won’t be easily replaced. The Hurricanes will still be a playoff team, but their path to a championship has become a lot more difficult.
The Devils needed a good offseason after a big letdown in the 2023-24 season, and they got just that. Their biggest splash was trading for Flames’ goaltender Jacob Markstrom. Markstrom and his career 2.73 GAA will be a massive upgrade following a season filled with tumultuous goaltending. They also did a lot of work bringing in more physical, defensive-oriented players to fill out positions of need. Brett Pesce, Brendan Dillon, Paul Cotter and Stefan Noesen playing behind the aforementioned Markstrom will make a great improvement on a team that was bottom five in goals allowed per game last season. The Devils’ offseason work should lead them to a big bounce back in the 2024-25 season.
The Golden Knights maneuvered their way around the salary cap to load up their team for last season’s postseason run. They paid the price for said maneuvering this offseason by losing a big chunk of their depth. Most significantly, they lost Jonathan Marchessault, Chandler Stephenson, Anthony Mantha and Logan Thompson. Their forward depth took the biggest hit, with goaltending also becoming a bit more of a question mark. In a growingly competitive Western Conference, this blow to the Golden Knights’ depth could prove to be very problematic. Like the Hurricanes mentioned before, they’re left with a decent enough roster that’s going to have a tougher time making a deep run.
The Edmonton Oilers have done great work in maintaining and upgrading their near Stanley Cup winning team. They managed to re-sign Adam Henrique, Mattias Janmark, Corey Perry and Connor Brown, who were all significant contributors to last year’s team. Their additions are highlighted by Jeff Skinner, yet another prolific goal scorer joining one of the league’s most prolific offenses. The Oilers also brought in Viktor Arvidsson, who will be an impactful and experienced winger on their top six. The team even managed to make a big addition to the future of their franchise, acquiring Matthew Savoie in exchange for Ryan McLeod. Savoie was the ninth overall pick in 2022 and has tremendous upside as a scorer. This was an overwhelmingly positive offseason for an Oilers team hoping to get back to the Stanley Cup Finals.
Featured image courtesy of NHL.com
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